


back to the start (of the yellow brick road)

by squireofgeekdom



Category: RWBY
Genre: Gen, Gratuitous Wizard of Oz allusions, Loosely implied Ironqrow, No S7 spoilers here, Shenanigans, Starts in Vaguely ~Early S7, They're just in Atlas, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:33:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22635181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/squireofgeekdom/pseuds/squireofgeekdom
Summary: Written as a birthday present for Kamemor 💛Ruby accidentally finds herself in a different Atlas, at a Vytal festival many years ago, and runs into someone familiar.
Relationships: James Ironwood & OCs, James Ironwood & Ruby Rose
Comments: 3
Kudos: 22





	back to the start (of the yellow brick road)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kamemor](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kamemor/gifts).



One moment, Ruby is in Atlas, and the next - 

\- she is still in Atlas.

Yang, Blake, and Weiss aren’t with her though. She blinks, looking around frantically - how could they have disappeared so quickly? No sign of them near her - no sudden turns they could have taken -

“Yang?” she calls out, “Weiss? Blake?”

No answer.

She starts to jog along the corridor - they must have gotten ahead of her, somehow - until she almost runs into two people.

“Oh! I’m so sorry!”

“What are you in such a rush for, huh?”

They’re almost a head shorter than her, which must be why she hadn’t noticed them, and both dressed in Atlas student uniforms, though they must have modified them for a more old-fashioned style. 

“I’m sorry, I must have gotten lost,” she says, rubbing the back of her neck, “I’m missing my friends, you wouldn’t happen to have seen a girl with really -” she gestures around her head in the shape of Yang’s hair - “- blonde hair, and -”

“You know her? I - ah, Jimmy will know where she is.  _ Hey Jimmy!”  _ the student shouts at a tall boy walking out of the next corridor. “Got someone here looking for Niol!”

_ Niol? _

The dark haired boy - Jimmy - tilts his head and frowns slightly. “She’s right here,” he says, gesturing behind him, where a girl with a long mane of golden hair is walking around the corner, talking and laughing with two other students. 

Her hair, certainly, is like Yang’s. The two golden cat ears on the top of her head are not. 

“Who’s right here? Me?” Niol says, with a roar of laughter. 

“Niol -” Jimmy starts, and then turns to Ruby. “Er, what did you say your name was?”

“Ruby?” 

“Ruby, here -” Jimmy continues, “- was looking for you.”

“You were?” Niol looks over at her. “... Have we met?”

“No! No no no, I was just -” she looks around for the two other students, but they were already disappearing down the corridor now that Jimmy and the others had shown up. “I’m looking for my sister, but when I was describing her to - them,” she points over her shoulder, “I guess they thought she was  _ you  _ because, well, you both have yellow hair like a  _ lot  _ of yellow hair, not that that’s a bad thing, it’s nice, I’ve always told Yang it’s nice - and then they told Jimmy I was looking for  _ you _ and he said you were  _ there _ -”

“Well that’s us caught up then, huh?” one of the other students says, with a big grin and a wagging tail. “I’m Otto. You already met Jimmy and Niol, and the chatterbox back there is Resca.”

Resca adjusts their glasses, pushing straw-colored hair out of their eyes. “Pleasure to meet you, Ruby. Now, can we -”

“So this Yang character’s your sister, huh?” Niol interrupts, ruffling Ruby’s hair. “And she’s got hair like mine? Might have to fight this one out, can’t have people stealing my look.” 

“I - er.” Ruby can  _ immediately  _ picture that fight.

“She’s joking,” Jimmy says. “I never used to get it either,” he adds, while Niol laughs uproariously, 

“Oh, I, uh, yeah. Haha.”

“Not that, uh,” James starts, awkwardly.

“No, I was just thinking that, well, my sister,”

“Your sister! We should help you find her.” Jimmy says, while Otto mutters. “ _ Oh god there are two of them.” _

“Oh, uh, great, thanks Jimmy!”

Jimmy sighs, and Otto and Niol laugh, while Resca rolls their eyes. “You can call me James.”

“James - uh. Sorry?”

“No, everyone calls me Jimmy, I just can’t get them to stop,” he says. “Except for Resca.”

“You’re welcome.” Resca notes. 

“But it’s James,” he says, extending a hand. “James Ironwood.”

Ruby chokes in the middle of shaking Jimmy -  _ James’  _ \- hand. 

_ General Ironwood?!!? _

_ “Gen-?!”  _ she starts to say, and then catches herself. “-erally you like to be called James. Got it. Yeah. Nothing to it.”

“Are you - okay?” Otto asks. 

“No no no nothing at all! I’m just fine!” Ruby says, completely the opposite of fine, as she realizes that she is _talking to a tiny General Ironwood_ which means she is several decades earlier than she _should_ be, which means a whole host of terrifying things she isn’t going to think about just yet. “I just have another - friend! Named James! And sometimes we call him General! Like a nickname! Because he’s so - uh - serious!”

“Sounds like our Jimmy,” Niol says, throwing one arm around his shoulder and ruffling his hair with the other. 

“Yeah, our Jimmy, the General,” Otto says, sarcastically, nudging his shoulder. “This big softie? He can’t even keep us in line.”

“We do -” Ironwood - tiny Ironwood - not-tiny-actually-still-very-tall-but-Young Ironwood - James starts, with a small grunt as Niol has shifted her arm around his shoulder into a headlock, “- just fine.”

“Yeah, well, that’s just because of Resca.” Otto teases. 

“So you’re… a team?” Ruby asks.

“Can you believe they let this nerd lead a team?” Otto says, laughing. “And they even let him steal the name too, Team IRON.”

“That wasn’t  _ my  _ idea.” James protests. 

“‘General Ironwood.’” Otto continues, half laughing. “Yesterday you were crying about snakes.”

“They don’t have any  _ arms,  _ Otto!” he says, and Otto properly laughs, and with hardly a beat James starts laughing too. 

“Okay, okay,” James says finally, as the laughter dies down and Ruby stares. “You’ve gotta find your sister, right?”

“Uh - huh?” Ruby says, realizing that she  _ won’t _ find Yang, not  _ now- _ now - which is the past from  _ her  _ now and also  _ Yang’s  _ now - but she can’t  _ say  _ that.

“Well the least we can do is help, especially after the case of mistaken identity,” he says, nudging Niol, who grins, tossing her mane of hair. 

“Counterpoint, we take the new girl for noodles. Because I’m hungry.” Otto says. Ruby almost jumps in to go along with this plan, because noodles are always great no matter what time you’re in, and it’s not like she can find Yang  _ now _ . 

But Niol cuts her off first. “Training!” she shouts, turning around to shift her headlock to Otto. “Training before noodles!” 

“If we take you to the headmaster’s office, he can make an announcement.” Resca suggests. “I’m sure your sister will hear it and come find you.”

Yes, because nothing could go wrong announcing the names of two girls who won’t be born for several years. “Uh-huh?”

“That’s settled then,” James says, “C’mon, if we’re not looking out for people, why are we even training to become Hunters?” he adds, to Otto and Niol’s looks of halfhearted disappointment. “We can’t just let some newcomer wander around lost - what school are you from, anyway?”

“Uh.” She goes for what is, technically, the truth. “Beacon. I’m from Beacon,” she says, as the five of them turn around and start walking down the hall, through patches of golden sunlight shining in through the windows. 

“Oh, Beacon! We were there last year, I know some students there.”

“You know that emo twink from Beacon, you mean,” Otto says, with a nudge to James’ ribs. 

James pinches the bridge of his nose, his face flushing. 

Resca makes inexplicable ‘caw’ing noises.

“Not you too.” James sighs, not quite hiding a smile. 

“And you made a three phase plan to get that cute girl from Beacon a girlfriend when I am  _ right here.” _ Riol says, with another elegant toss of her hair. 

“There were  _ bullet points _ , James,” Otto adds. “And twelve contingencies.”

“You remember it that well?”

_ “How could I forget.” _

“It was two in the morning,” Resca explains to Ruby. “We never let him have that much coffee again.”

_ “So.”  _ James says. “How are you finding the Vytal Festival?”

“The … Vytal Festival?”

_ The Vytal Festival... _

“Hey,” James says, and Ruby suddenly starts, realizing she hadn’t actually responded to the question. For about a minute, actually. 

“You okay?”

“What? Me? Yeah! Just a lot of - stressful matches, you know! Hahah!”

“Is this your first year competing?”

_ No.  _ “Yes, hahah. It’s a lot.”

“Ah, but that is the fun part!” Niol cuts in. “The rush of adrenaline is never quite the same!”

It’s the  _ Vytal Festival -  _ all the schools would be here. Uncle Qrow might be here. Her  _ dad  _ might be here. Her  _ mom -  _

“Hahahah, yeah,” she says.

“Don’t worry about tough matches,” Resca says. “It is all practice. Especially your first year. Enjoy the experience, and learn everything you can.”

“And kick as much ass as you can!” Niol exclaims.

“You say that as though we didn’t get totally knocked out our first year.” Otto cuts in.

“That’s just because our Jimmy was distracted by Bird Boy. That won’t be happening again,” Riol says. “Right, Jimmy?”

James coughs.

“Oh my god you’re going to see him.” Otto says in one rushed breath. “You already made plans.”

“I made plans to see Glynda too! She and I are getting lunch tomorrow!” 

“And I’m sure you’re equally stressed about that lunch with Glynda and your plans with Bird Boy.” Resca says, deadpan.

“I’m not dignifying that with a response.”

“You made plans with the cute girl from Beacon and you did not invite me?” Niol says. 

“What, so I can be a third wheel? I actually want to have a conversation with her.”

“Yeah, Niol.” Otto says, “if you want to meet up with cuties from Beacon you have to set up plans yourself,” he adds. “Just like Jimmy did with Bird Boy.” 

“I am beginning to regret having befriended any of you.” James says, turning to Ruby. “So I’m clearly in the market for new friends, do you think it’s too late to transfer to Beacon?”

“Noooo no teammate stealing!” Niol shouts, immediately picking up James in a hug that Otto and Resca glom onto. 

“I’m… kidding…” James gasps out through the crushing embrace of Niol’s hug.

“We know.” Resca says, not letting go. 

“Our team captain.” Niol says protectively, doing an ‘I’m looking at you’ gesture towards Ruby.

“Does it really count as befriending us if we were forced together by the strange machinations of Atlas tradition?” Otto contemplates halfheartedly.

“Yes.” The other three say, in immediate unison. 

“Okay, yeah.” Otto admits with a wag of his tail.

“Um.” Ruby says, after a long minute.

“Okay. Missing sister. Niol, you can let me down now.” James says. “We’re almost at the headmaster’s office, let’s go.”

When they arrive at the headmaster’s door, the first knock goes unanswered. So does the second. And the third. 

“He must be out dealing with the festival.” Resca says.

“We’ll wait until he gets back.” James says, “Right, everyone?”

As if on cue, Otto and Niol’s stomachs rumble. The sound echoes off the walls.

The two of them turn and look at Resca. 

“I could eat,” they say. 

The three of them look at James. 

“I’ll wait with Ruby, you go get noodles,” James allows. “Just pick me up some of their red bean buns, would you?”

“You got it,  _ General _ ,” Otto says, grinning. “Nice meeting you, Ruby!” 

“Tell your sister I will be ready to spar with her at her earliest convenience!” Niol shouts over her shoulder.

Resca shakes Ruby’s hand. “A pleasure meeting you. Good luck with the rest of the tournament.”

James chuckles as they leave. “That’s got to have you feeling less intimidated by the competition, right?”

“I’ll suggest tactical noodle strikes to my team.” She says with mock seriousness, and James laughs.

They sit in companionable silence, and Ruby thinks this time doesn’t seem so bad. 

“Did you mean what you said,” she starts, after a while, “about it not being worth it to become Hunters if you’re not looking out for people?”

James looks at her, surprised. “Well, yes,” he says. “That’s why I applied to Atlas in the first place. I want to train as a Huntsman, and then join the Atlas military. It’s the best way for me to protect as many people as I can.”

“Huh.” 

“What?”

“Oh, I just - I said something similar,” she says. “It feels like a long time ago, now. I wanted to become a Huntress because I want to help people, and - well. This seemed like the best way to make a career out of that.”

“And now?”

“Huh? Oh, I still want to help people. I just… sometimes I worry that being a Huntress isn’t enough. There are so many big things out there, you know?”

“Hey,” James says, and waits until Ruby looks up at him to speak again. “It’s your first year. Don’t take the weight of the world on your shoulders just yet,” he says with a smile.

“You too,” she says seriously.

“I’d settle for taking the weight of my teammates, for now,” James says. “And the occasional stranger missing a sister,” he adds, with a grin. 

“Thanks,” she says, trying not to think about what happens if they actually put an announcement for Yang Xiao-Long, and she doesn’t show up. She should come up with a fake surname, at least…

Her train of thought is interrupted by the clack of shoes on the floor. 

“Glynda! Good to see you - are we still on for tomorrow?”

_ “You.”  _ Glynda says, looking directly at Ruby.

“M-me?” Ruby squeaks. There’s no way she could  _ know,  _ could she?

“Glynda, this is Ruby. She’s from Beacon too, she’s looking for her sister, you don’t happen to know -”

_ “You’re the anomaly.” _

“What.” James and Ruby say simultaneously.

Glynda starts, and looks at James. “Hi. Yes. Ruby from Beacon, you said.” She looks at Ruby. “Yes, I do think I  _ have  _ seen your sister. Come with me,” she says, taking Ruby’s arm and practically yanking her upright. 

“It was nice meeting you!” James calls out after her. “I hope you find your sister!”

“Nice meeting you too!” Ruby calls back. “Definitely for the first time!”

After they’ve rounded a corner, Glynda starts, “I don’t know how you got here, but we need to get you out of here before you do  _ irreparable  _ damage to the timestream -”

“Wait - you know -”

“Shh. The less both of us know, the better. Put these on.”

“Ruby… slippers?” 

“Do you remember the  _ exact  _ moment you left your time?”

“Y-yes? I was with -”

“ _ Don’t tell me.  _ Just concentrate on it very,  _ very  _ hard and this might not all go completely to shit.”

“I’m sorry?”

_ “Focus.  _ You focus hard enough, clack your heels three times, you pop right back up like you’ve never been gone,  _ tell no one,  _ and we all get to have a nice day. I don’t know, your day might be terrible. We all get to have a non-timestream destroying day. Does that sound good? How does not destroying the fabric of reality sound?”

“Good?”

“Good. Are you concentrating?”

“Yes?”

“Not good enough.  _ Concentrate harder.” _

Ruby thinks about the swish of Yang’s hair and the sound of Blake’s all-too-rare laughter and the way Weiss’s shoes clacked on the floor -

“Good. Click your heels.”

One.

Two. 

Three.

She opens her eyes. She’s still in Atlas. 

She’s listening to Blake laughing. 

Yang turns around to look at her, once she realizes she’s stopped in her tracks. “Ruby? You okay there?”

“Yeah, I just -”  _ tell no one  _ “- got lost in a memory, I guess.”

“C’mon, Ruby. It’s not every day we get to explore Atlas Academy!”

“No,” Ruby says, “I guess it’s not.” 

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, to explore Atlas twice in one day. 

The company hadn’t been too bad the first time, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> James having a overly complicated plan to get Glynda a girlfriend comes directly from this excellent post: https://artsyorangeykay.tumblr.com/post/190345331749/laulink-artsyorangeykay-i-keep-accidentally
> 
> Since the fic doesn't have spoilers for vol 7, please be polite and keep spoilers, etc, out of the comments! Thanks!


End file.
